Kasseler is cured and smoked pork chop, thus very salty already when you buy it. The name might go back either to a butcher in old Berlin called Cassel who invented – so the legend says – the method of preserving the meat or to the French word casserole (for a stewing pan), brought to Berlin by the Huguenots, a group of Protestants who emigrated from France. Nowadays it is enjoyed everywhere in Germany.
Sauerkraut is sliced white cabbage which is fermented with salt. In Germany you usually don’t make it yourself anymore but buy it canned or in plastic bags at the supermarket.
Ingredients
Kasseler
- Kasseler (without bone)…………………………………. 1 kg
- half canned apricots………………………………………….. 8
- meat broth / stock…………………………………….. 250 ml
- cornstarch………………………………………. 1 tablespoon
Sauerkraut
- canned sauerkraut………………………………………. 750 g
- onion………………………………………………………….. 1/2
- apple……………………………………………………………… 1
- Lard or vegetable oil
- Pepper, caraway, sugar
- mild apple cider vinegar…………………….. 1 tablespoon
- water (or vegetable stock)………………………….. 250 ml
Mashed potatoes
- potatoes…………………………………………………….. 1 kg
- milk……………………………………………………….. 250 ml
- butter……………………………………………. 1 tablespoon
- Salt, grated nutmeg
Preparation
Kasseler
- Bring 125ml of water to a boil. In the meantime, rinse the meat under cold water. Preheat oven to 230°C.
- Put meat in stewing pan, douse with boiling water and roast in center of the oven for 45 minutes.
- Drain the roast and collect the juice. Preheat oven to 250°C.
- Cover the roast with the apricot halves and pour apricot juice from can over the roast. Bake for another 10 minutes on the center rack.
- Keep roast warm and use residue in pan with the collected meatjuice and the corn starch to make a sauce.
Sauerkraut
- Loosen sauerkraut in a bowl with 2 forks. Peel the onion and cut into small cubes. Traditionally, when this dish become popular in the ‘60s and ‘70s, Germans didn’t cook with garlic, but if you like, you may add some sliced garlic here as well.
- Heat lard or oil in a pot and fry the onion cubes until the become translucent. Add the sauerkraut and season with ½ teaspoon of salt, 2 pinches of pepper, 1 teaspoon of caraway and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
- Peel and core the apple and cut into quartes. Place onto sauerkraut, add 250ml of water or stock and bring to a boil. Steam with a lid on low heat for about 20 minutes.
- Check fluid level regularly and top off with some water if necessary. In the end, season with vinegar.
Mashed potatoes
- Peel the potatoes, remove brown and green spots. Cut into pieces, place in cold water in a pot and brink to a boil. Cook covered for about 25 minutes or until soft on low heat.
- Heat milk and drain the potatoes.
- Mash potatoes and gradually stir in the milk. Be careful not to add too much liquid. Stir for about 5 minutes. The mash will be better the longer you stir.
- Finally stir in the butter and season with 2 pinches of salt and one pinch of grated nutmeg.
